Frozen Hearts & Parking Lots
by TrailingJasmine
Summary: AH. Edward's not a jock. He plays guitar. Bella's not an emotionally damaged, tattooed rebel. She's a normal girl, trying to survive a new high school. E/B.
1. Chapter 1

I didn't really wake up properly until I was under the tepid dribble that, at Charlie's house, counted for a shower. I stood there, waiting for the hot water to come through, and then suddenly my memories returned. _Not in Phoenix. In Forks. At Charlie's. First day at a new school. _I groaned. _Oh crap, what am I going to wear?_  
I gave up on the hot water after two minutes, and focused instead on the important things: shampoo and soap. As I left the bathroom I wondered if it was normal to be shivering so much that your knees knocked together, then sighed. _Not in Phoenix. Mustn't grumble, musn't upset Charlie. _Besides, clothes were far more of a pressing issue. Jeans were a necessity, as a skirt would lead to hypothermia; and it was rare that a cami and a v-neck stood out. But still… what if Forks was actually really fashion forward? Or really backward?

My name is Isabella Swan, but most people call me Bella. For almost all my life, I've lived in the desert sun, in the sprawling city of Phoenix (population 4,170,000), with my mom Renee. But now I've moved to my dad's place, which is just about the opposite: the small town of Forks, Washington, population 3,200, where it rains pretty much all the time. It sounds like a strange move, but there are good reasons for it – mainly that it allowed Renee to go on the road with her new husband, Phil, a minor league baseball player. "Forks can't be that bad, can it?" I had said to Renee when I was trying to convince her that it really was the best solution for me to go and stay with Charlie.  
"Don't ask me." Renee had raised not just one but both eyebrows. "We all know how long I lasted there."

But I was here now, and as I stepped out of the front door into the drizzle of what I guessed was a typical Forks day, I pulled the hood of my jacket up. "Better get used to it," I mumbled to myself as I got into my truck. The truck – a 1950s Chevy pickup – was a homecoming gift from Charlie, and kind of cool in a retro way. At least it was warm and dry in the cab, and I tried to ignore the thunderous noise of the engine as I made my way towards the school.

As I turned into the parking lot, I took a brief look around at the other students making their way towards the entrance. They looked… normal. Slightly less glamorous than those in Phoenix, but that was okay; I had never really fit in with the Mercedes crowd. _It's fine, it's cool, you're wearing the right clothes, you're not going to fall over or trip in the hallways, or drop your tray in the cafeteria, or…_ As I edged the truck into a free parking space, the peace of the lot was shattered by a loud bang. _That would be your truck, backfiring. There goes not standing out…_  
As I got out of the truck, my face matching the same crimson-orange of its paintwork, someone shouted across the lot. "Nice truck!" It wasn't a compliment. I looked for the source, and saw a tall, well-built guy with curly brown hair, standing with a couple of other guys. They all wore letterman jackets.  
"Well, that's the dumb jock ticked off the stereotype list," I muttered under my breath. "What I want to know now is where the cheerleaders are…"

I found them just inside the main entrance, in a huddle by some lockers. One of them noticed me and nudged her friends, and they all turned to watch me walk in. I prayed that I wasn't going to perform my usual first day faceplant, and was shocked when I stayed on both feet. This meant, however, that the cheerleaders were still in my line of vision.  
"Hi!" One of the girls detached herself from the group. "Are you new here?" She was tiny, barely more than five feet, with short, pixie-cut hair and incredibly dainty features. I was slightly cautious, as none of the cheerleaders in Scottsdale had ever been nice to me, but who knew? Perhaps they were different here. I put on my cheerful face.  
"Yes. Could you tell me where the office is?"  
"Sure. Straight down the hall, third door on the right. I'm Alice, by the way."  
"I'm Bella. Thanks for the directions."  
"Oh, that's alright. See you around!" And with a delicate twirl, she turned back to the group of girls, who had promptly lost all interest in me.

I moved on down the hall, and slowly relaxed a little. I wondered why I had been so worried – the kids here were perfectly normal, though admittedly they stared at me, the new girl. I found the office without difficulty, and picked up various things like my class schedule, locker combination and a map. My first class was Trigonometry, so I headed back out into the hallway to find room 215. The bell had already rung for classes and the hall was deserted. Sighing, I looked around, then dug out the map I'd been given. I scanned it for 215, but couldn't see it anywhere. The panic began to rise up inside me – _first class, and you're late, you'll be in trouble, the other students will think you're retarded for not being able to find a classroom…_

"Hey, can I help you?"  
I was jerked abruptly from my panic attack, and spun around to find the source of the voice. Walking down the corridor towards me was a tall, slender boy with bronze hair, a book bag slung over his shoulder.  
"I'm sorry?"  
"Can I help you? You look a little lost." I realized suddenly that I'd been rude to someone who'd actually bothered to try to help me.  
"Yeah, I am. I'm looking for room 215?" The boy nodded. I noticed suddenly that he was quite handsome, in an unconventional way; and that he had sea green eyes fringed with long, dark lashes.  
"215 is upstairs. Go up the stairs at the end of this hall, turn right, and 215 is at the end of the corridor."  
"Thanks. Hey, I'm Bella Swan, I'm…"  
He interrupted me before I had a chance to finish my sentence. "New? Yeah, I guessed. I'm Edward Cullen." He stuck out a hand, and I shook it, feeling my face turning red. "Anyway, I should be going."  
"Yes. I should actually find 215."  
"See you around, Bella Swan," he grinned, and walked off down the hall. He had a guitar case over his other shoulder. _Cute, and he plays guitar._ Suddenly, Forks didn't seem like such a bad place, after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Room 215 was exactly where Edward had said it would be. Through the window in the door, I could see the class in full swing, so after a few deep breaths, I pushed open the classroom door. The teacher was busy writing something on the blackboard, but the heads of the rest of the class whipped around like puppets on strings. I stood there, feeling like an idiot, until the giggling that had begun in the back row of the class made the teacher turn around. He spotted me standing in the doorway, and for a moment seemed confused.

"Hi. I'm Bella Swan. It's my first day here?"  
"Bella… Isabella Swan? Chief Swan's daughter?" Clearly Charlie's reputation went before him.  
"Yes, that's me." I smiled awkwardly.  
"Great. Why don't you take a seat… and here's the book list for the semester." The teacher handed me a piece of paper, but I was too busy trying to negotiate the social minefield of classroom seating to really focus on what was on it. There was an empty seat towards the back of the classroom, and gratefully I sank into it, unpacking my notebook and pens from my bag before paying attention to the teacher.

The rest of the morning was much the same. I wandered around Forks High School trying to find classrooms that were never on the map, and sadly I didn't bump into Edward again. He really had been my knight in shining armour, I reflected as I sat in Spanish, clock watching. I'd taken mostly AP courses in Phoenix, and in my classes so far I was well above the general standard. It was comforting, sort of; but it would probably get pretty dull in a week or so.

At the end of the class, a petite girl with wild, curly brown hair leaned across the aisle between our desks. "Hey, it's Bella, right?"  
"Yes." My guard was still up a little – it was completely irrational, as nobody had been anything other than pleasant to me.  
"I'm Jessica. You must be feeling a little lost, do you want to grab lunch with me and my friends?"  
"That would be great," I said, relieved.

We walked to the cafeteria together, and along the way were joined by some of Jessica's other friends – a tall brunette girl, Angela, a slightly nerdy Asian guy called Eric, and finally, Mike, who was almost puppy-like in his enthusiasm about everything.  
"So what do you think of Forks so far? Do you like it? Do you like the school?" he asked as we sat down at one of the tables.  
"Yeah, it's fine. I mean, it rains a lot more than it did in Phoenix, but, you know… it's different."  
"You don't look like you're from Phoenix," Mike said, screwing up his face a little as he looked at me. "Don't people from Phoenix have tans?"  
"Yeah, I'm part albino," I said sarcastically. The blank look on his face told me he didn't get it. "People here have been nice to me, though," I added quickly. "Really friendly."  
"Really?" Jessica said curiously. "Like who?"  
"Well, there was this cheerleader. I think she was called Alice."

"Alice Cullen," Jessica nodded immediately, and I wondered why it sounded familiar. "She's a little… different." I don't think Jessica intended to make it sound as if Alice was a nut-job for being friendly to me, but that was how it came out. I chose to ignore it.  
"Yeah, she told me where the office was. And then there was this guy, Edward…" Suddenly, I realized why Alice's name had sounded familiar. "Edward Cullen."  
"_Oh my god_," Jessica said, pulling a face. "You met _both_ the Cullens on your first morning? I'm amazed you think any of us are normal!" She went on quickly, lowering her voice. "I mean, they're not all weird, Emmett's normal, but Alice and Edward…"  
"What's so weird about them?"  
"Jess is just being mean," Angela interjected. "They're not weird."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Alice and Edward are Dr Cullen's foster kids," she whispered. "Emmett is Mrs Cullen's son from her first marriage, and he's a senior and totally normal and so gorgeous. He's the quarterback for the football team, and he's dating Rosalie Hale."  
"Rosalie's the school social chair and she's had every female lead in the school play for the last three years," Angela whispered. Jessica shot her a look and Angela shut up, shrugging apologetically. Jessica continued talking.  
"Alice is a cheerleader, so you'd think she'd be normal. I don't know why she wants to be on the squad…"  
"Because she's a really good dancer?" Angela interrupted again.  
"But she's totally weird. She hardly hangs out with the others on the squad. She spends all her time with her boyfriend Jasper and comes to school in these weird outfits she's made." Jessica drew breath, as if saving the best for last. "And then there's Edward Cullen. He spends all his time off in his own little world, reading and playing guitar. He hardly talks to anyone except Alice and Jasper, and I think he only talks to Jasper because they're in a band together."  
"In a band?"  
"Well, if you can have a band with two people," Jessica said derisively. "Anyway, like I said: weird. You are so lucky to have found me!"

At the end of lunch, I said goodbye to Jessica and Angela, my head spinning a little. I'd remembered to ask for directions before leaving them, so set off for room 112 and Biology class. I was feeling a little less alone now, though I wasn't sure if Jess was really my sort of person. Angela definitely was, though, and Eric and Mike had seemed friendly enough, when they'd been able to get a word in edgeways.  
I was actually on time for biology. I went up to the teacher, Mr Banner, to introduce myself.  
"Hi, I'm Bella Swan. I'm new?"  
"Ah, Miss Swan," Mr Banner said genially. "So good of you to join us. We have assigned partners in the class, so just hold on one moment and I'll find you a seat." He picked up what was clearly a seating chart from his desk, and tapped it. "There's a spot there," he said, not looking up. "Third from the front, right hand side."

I looked up. Sitting on the other half of the black topped lab bench was Edward Cullen.

* * *

**A/N: **So glad you're enjoying my story; I'm loving the reviews. This Forks is slightly AU but generally the same. Next chapter coming soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Sitting on the other half of the black topped lab bench I'd been assigned to was Edward Cullen. He was bent over a notebook, scribbling away; he didn't notice me walking through the classroom towards him. I put my books down tentatively on the table top, but Edward barely looked up.

"Hi," I ventured. "Remember me?" Edward did look up then.

"Oh, hi. Bella, right?"

"Yeah," I smiled, but he had already turned his attention back to the paper. I saw what looked like song lyrics written on it. I strained to see what they were, but Edward must have caught me looking, for suddenly he slammed his notebook shut, looking irritated.

"Sorry," I said quickly, and he turned his gaze to me. It was fierce, and suddenly I felt as if I had intruded on something intensely private.

"For what?" he asked, and turned away, to the front of the room, where Mr Banner was trying to get the attention of the class.

The class was on the phases of mitosis. I'd already done mitosis comprehensively in Phoenix, so zoned out. After a while, Mr Banner put on a film, and when the lights were down I noticed that Edward, sitting beside me, looked just as bored; he was doodling random shapes on the cover of his notebook. I tilted my head towards him in the way I'd always done in Phoenix when I wanted to talk to someone in the back of a darkened classroom, in a way that the other person could see from the corner of their eye. I know Edward saw it, because he blinked, but he didn't respond. Instead, he seemed to focus even harder on the notebook; and when the lights came back up at the end of the class, he promptly bolted for the door. I slowly packed up my books, wondering what I had done to offend him.

My final class of the day was the one I had least been looking forward to – Gym. I sat at the side of the gym, watching my classmates play volleyball, extremely grateful that I didn't yet have the regulation clothing and so wasn't forced to join in. Jessica turned into a force of nature on the court, seeming to want to be everywhere at once.

More than a little bored with watching my classmates, I rummaged in my book bag and pulled out the battered copy of Jane Austen's collected works that I had brought with me from Phoenix. I knew all of the books far too well. A game I would often play to while away a long car journey was which of her heroes I would want to date in a certain circumstance – for example, in the event of an oncoming zombie apocalypse, would one want to be with Mr Knightley, who would be a gentleman and try to unsuccessfully fight off the army of the undead, or Mr Wickham, who actually would be able to fight them but who might leave you behind to be devoured yourself?

I turned to _Persuasion_, the novel I knew least well, but before I finished the first paragraph I was smacked around the side of the head by a rogue volleyball.

"Oh my god, Bella! Are you OK?" That was Jessica; I could already hear several people running towards me.

"I'm fine," I exclaimed before anybody could make too much of a fuss, "I'm fine. It was a volleyball, it didn't hurt that bad."

"I'm so sorry, Bella! I just hit it a little off…" That was Mike, his eyes huge, pleading for forgiveness.

"It's fine," I waved a hand. "Seriously, I'm like a magnet for accidents. If it's going to happen to anyone, it's usually me."

"Do you want to go to the nurse?" That was Jessica again, far too eager.

"No, really, I'll be fine. But I might take myself off somewhere I won't get hit. Is that alright, coach?" Coach Clapp nodded, his eyes already back on the game restarting on the court, and with that I put my book back in my bag, slung it over my shoulder and walked out of the gym.

I went first to my locker, where I put away some of the books I had picked up during the course of the day; then to the school office, where I handed in the various forms I'd had to get signed by my teachers. The administrator, Mrs Cope, took the papers from me and glanced over them. "Was everything alright?"

"Yes, fine." I heard the door open and close behind me. "Is there anything else I need to do?"

"Hi, Mrs Cope," someone interrupted beside me. "Can I get the key for the music room, please?" I turned, annoyed, to see Edward Cullen standing there at the desk.

"Just one moment, Edward. I'm not quite finished with Miss Swan." I saw Edward roll his eyes, and irritation fired up in me. He was unbelievably rude! Mrs Cope slid some more papers across the desk towards me. "I need you to get your teachers to sign these at the end of the first week," she explained. "Then that's it for forms, at least until the end of the year. Have a good week, Miss Swan. Now then, Mr Cullen, what's the rush for the key?" Mrs Cope got to her feet and went to look for the key, and I turned to Edward.

"Yes, Edward – what is so important that it couldn't take thirty seconds?"

"If you were even slightly musical, you'd understand," Edward said snidely, and I saw he had his guitar with him. "You cannot time creativity."

"You can't time being up your own ass, either," I retorted, and walked out before he could say anything else.

Just what the hell was his problem, anyway? I seethed as I walked over to my car. His music was probably really awful, too; I could just see him sitting in a dark old bedroom trying to rip off some shitty emo band. I dumped my bag on the passenger seat and pulled out my cell phone. There were five missed calls from my mother. "Mom, just hold on for twenty minutes and I'll call, yeah?" I said to the phone in my hand, then shoved it back into the bag and drove off home.

When I got home and rang her, my mother didn't even answer. "Hi Mom," I sighed into the phone. "Saw you rang me half a dozen times and thought you deserved a reply. Sorry I didn't pick up, I was in school. It's raining, like it always does in Forks. People here seem OK." I thought of a certain bronze haired guitar player and grimaced. "Well, most of them. Anyway, I should probably go and get some food for Charlie, I think I'm going to be doing most of the cooking unless I want to live off microwave meals. So yes, that's it. I'll talk to you later, I guess. Bye, Mom, I love you."


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't go out shopping immediately, in case Renee had only just missed me and called back. So I turned on the computer in my room and logged into Facebook, clicking on profiles of my friends back in Phoenix. It was bizarre, seeing how things had just moved on in only a few days. It was as if I had never even existed.

There were a couple of friend requests from people in Forks already – one from Mike, and one from Jessica. I accepted them, wondering how they'd had the time to look me up since meeting me at lunch.

After an hour of procrastinating, I pulled myself together. I went through the kitchen cupboards, not that there was much to go through - just a pack of rice, some canned peaches and something with a sell by date of 1997 which claimed to be vanilla sauce. I took some of the money in the shopping jar Charlie had set up, and drove to the Thriftway near the school.

I took my time browsing the aisles, making up menus in my head and tossing in items as I went along. Steak would probably figure heavily; I remembered Charlie being resistant to what he thought were "exotic" foods. He'd probably throw a fit if I served him a burrito, even though my burritos were amazing. "You can lead a Charlie to Mexican food, but you can't make him eat," I muttered to myself, and grabbled a couple of bags of pasta spirals.

Rounding a corner, I came across the petite, dark haired girl in the cheerleading uniform I had met before anyone else at Forks High School: Alice Cullen, Edward's sister. She was standing beside the Betty Crocker ready mix cake section with a tall boy who had scruffy, dirty blond hair and a drowsy expression, and they were examining a box of instant cookie dough. I was about to press on, when Alice looked up and saw me standing there.

"Hey, you're Bella!" she exclaimed, promptly handing Jasper the box of biscuit mix. "How was your first day?"

"Oh, fine," I shrugged. Jasper was now staring at me.

"Is this…" he asked Alice.

"Yes, this is Bella," Alice nodded. Jasper looked back at me.

"So this is the one who did it."

"Shh," Alice chided him.

"Excuse me?" I asked, utterly confused.

Alice grinned. "Ignore him, I usually do. Hey, what are you doing after this?"

I checked my watch. It was already half past five; Charlie would be home in half an hour and would want dinner on the table not long after.

"Cooking dinner for my dad."

"Oh, that's too bad. Never mind. We'll see you around, Bella." And with that, she turned and marched off, dragging Jasper with her.

I beat Charlie home by a matter of minutes and set to work making dinner. It wasn't much effort – steak and baked potatoes have never been a challenge to prepare.

"Smells good, Bell," Charlie said as he came into the kitchen at half past six. "Looks pretty good too," he added as I slid one of the steaks onto his plate.

"Nothing to it." We sat down together in the kitchen, comfortable in silence as we ate. Charlie didn't speak again until we were washing up together.

"Good first day at school?"

"Yeah, fine." It was what he needed to hear; and what good would it do to tell him that a bronze haired, pretentious guitar player had royally irritated me? None at all.

My conversation with Renee later on wasn't much more illuminating, and when I finally hung up the phone and snuggled down under my duvet, I wasn't entirely sure what my own thoughts were on my first day. On individuals, they were more certain. Angela – friendly, Jessica – perhaps a little flakey, Alice – quixotic. I couldn't settle on a single word for Edward Cullen; there were several that seemed to work well – asshole, irritating, self-involved. But he didn't matter. He was one person in hundreds at Forks High School, and as I drifted off, I knew he could easily be ignored.

***

It was still raining the next day. I sighed, pulled on a hooded sweatshirt and got on with my morning routine. Maybe it would be sunny tomorrow, I hoped as I drove to school. _And maybe pigs will fly, too_.

I arrived a little early, so stayed in the warm of the cab of my truck, reading _Persuasion_. I got so engrossed in the novel that when someone knocked on the passenger window, I jumped. It was Jessica, grinning at me; I hopped down from the truck to join her.

"Ohmygod Bella, I'm so nervous," Jessica exclaimed as I joined her.

"Why, what's up?" I asked, and she widened her eyes.

"You're kidding, right? School musical tryouts are this afternoon after school."

"Really? I'm not really a musician, or a singer. What are they putting on?"

"_West Side Story_," Jessica sighed. "I'm trying for Maria." I didn't know what to say.

"And I am going to try for the lighting board," Angela joked as she joined us. "There's no way I'm going to be on that stage. You should come too, Bella."

"Yeah, there's loads to get involved in, even if you don't want to act," Jessica breathed. "Set painting, lighting, sound…"

"Sure," I said. "I'll come along with you, Angela. But there's no way you're getting me anywhere nearer the stage than the lighting board!"

Just inside the main door, we passed Edward Cullen in the hallway. He completely ignored me. _Fine_, I thought to myself. _If that's the way it's going to be, I'm not going to fight it_.

"Here," Angela said, pointing to a noticeboard on one of the walls. "You need to sign up for tech here, Bella." I added my name to the list, which so far was Angela and Eric Yorkie, the other guy who had sat with us at lunch the previous day.

"Oooh, Angela, it's going to be kind of cosy back there on the deck– you and Eric," Jess teased. Angela stayed composed.

"Bella will be there too, now. C'mon, we'll be late for homeroom."


	5. Chapter 5

The second day was far more like a normal day at school. I sat through English, Government, Trig and Spanish without feeling like everyone was watching me. Well, I did until Jess leaned across the aisle in Spanish and whispered, "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" I whispered back.

"What you said to Edward Cullen in the office yesterday? About him being up his ass?"

"How did you…"

"Ellie Chambers was in the nurse's room and she heard you. Ohmygod, it's true, isn't it?"

"Jessica, if you've got something important to say, I'm sure the class won't mind you taking up valuable time to tell us." After shooting us an annoyed glance, the teacher continued writing up vocab on the chalkboard.

I considered my options, and realised the only path was honesty. I nodded slowly, and Jessica's face lit up before she did a little fist pump. "Go Bella go!"

At lunch I sat in the cafeteria with the same crowd, and idly drew swirly patterns in my bowl of yoghurt whilst paying very little attention to what Mike Newton was saying about a party he was having on Saturday.

I drifted off into a daydream, where I was sitting on the front porch of my old house in Phoenix, watching a car – a dark red, vintage Porsche - pulling up at the kerb. Edward Cullen got out of the car and stood there, watching me.

"You should try to get Edward and Jasper to come and play at the party." That was the first voice that broke through my reverie, and I snapped my head up, perhaps a little fast.

"Ohmygod, Angela, when did you become Leno?" Jess laughed.

"I'm serious. I've seen them practicing a couple of times, they're really good," Angela insisted.

"Edward and Jasper?" I asked, just to ensure I was on the same page they were.

"Edward Cullen and Jasper Hale are in a band together," Jessica gabbled, bored. "If you can have a band with two people."

"And they're really good," Angela said firmly.

"Hey, did you guys hear what Bella said to Edward yesterday?"

"What, the ass thing?" Mike laughed, and I realised that I had been wrong about people ignoring me because they weren't curious. They'd just thought the new girl was rude and not worth their time. "Seriously, Arizona, funniest thing I've heard in years."

"And so true," Jess chipped in. "Cullen is way too serious about everything."

"And his band is not playing this weekend. It's not that sort of party," Mike said with an air of finality. "Hey, Bella, you should come."

For a moment, I hesitated, but then I reflected that I was at a new school, I didn't have many friends, and nothing to lose. "Yeah, that sounds great. Saturday, right?"

"Yeah, Saturday," Mike grinned, and Jessica pouted.

"Oh, so I'm not invited?"

"Of course we're invited, Jess. It's just that Bella's new so she might not know she was welcome. You are welcome, you know." That was Angela, ever the diplomat, and I shot her a grateful smile.

As the clock ticked slowly on, I could feel my heart sinking a little, and finally put my finger on it when I remembered that my next class was Biology. I approached the lab in a distinctly glum mood, and when I walked through the door I breathed out a little. Edward Cullen wasn't at the desk we had shared, and I dropped my books onto the lab top feeling slightly happier.

The feeling didn't last long. Thirty seconds later, just as I was writing the date on the top right hand corner of a fresh page in my notebook, Edward Cullen breezed in, sat down next to me and then spent the rest of class ignoring me as we watched the second half of the film on mitosis. At the end of class, as the bell rang and the lights flicked back on, I turned to Edward, ready to apologise, but he was already on his feet, striding away. I watched him walk out of the room, and gritted my teeth. _Drop it,_ my subconscious told me. _You can cope with a year of being ignored for an hour a day, right?_

Today's gym class was basketball. We were playing fast, five on five, but with thirteen students in the class three people sat out of each five minute game, with everyone taking turns to sit games out. I was glad when my turn to sit out came; I had spent most of the previous ten minutes running determinedly away from the ball, and was now hot and sweaty and feeling extremely inelegant. Jessica was sitting out with me, and was talking breathlessly away about the auditions due to take place in just over an hour's time. "I'll just die if I'm not Maria," she exclaimed. "Just die! And I know that people say that Anita is a much more interesting role but Maria is like, the star!"

"Yeah, definitely," I said, picking at the rubber on my sneakers.

"Everyone says Rosalie Hale will get Maria," Jessica sighed melodramatically. "She always gets it – she was Wendla in Spring Awakening, she was Rosalind in As You Like It, she was Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz… she gets the best roles, every time."

"She must be good."

"Yeah, but it's so not fair!" The whistle blew, and reluctantly I got to my feet to go back out onto the court.

In the changing rooms, Jessica was buzzing even more, and we had to sit her down and force her to take deep breaths. "You've got to calm down, Jess. If you don't, you'll just flunk it," Angela said, practically holding Jess down.

"You'll be there, won't you?" Jess gasped, looking at us both.

"Of course. Bella and I will be on the tech boards, at the back."

"I don't actually have to know how any of this stuff works, right?" I asked, worried.

"No," Angela reassured me. "Just sit and watch me. We won't need to do much today, just a spotlight or two, and if they decide to mike people auditioning, we'll have to do that."

"It's time!" Jessica said dramatically, scrambling to her feet. "I am so ready to sing that girl into oblivion!" And with that, she swept out of the gym, leaving us to follow in her wake.


	6. Chapter 6

I was relieved to be up in the darkness at the back of the auditorium. I sat next to Angela as she hunched over the boards, playing with sliders and buttons and twiddling knobs, getting the lighting on stage just right. The auditions hadn't started and there were groups of people standing around the stage; some were warming up their vocal cords and others – mostly guys – were horsing around. Down by the stage, someone was thumping out tunes from the show on an upright piano.

"Angela!" Miss Graham, the drama teacher who was in charge of the production and whom I had been introduced to ten minutes earlier, was standing in the third row, squinting up at us, shouting over the piano and the din on stage. "Angela, we're going to use the main mike, okay?"

"Did you catch that?" Angela rolled her eyes, then yelled back to Miss Graham, "Sorry?"

"The main mike, Angela. We're gonna use it. The piano's too loud."

With an abrupt crash of chords, whoever was playing the piano stopped, and a few moments later, the person playing it started loping up the steps of the auditorium towards Angela and I. I groaned suddenly as I recognised his outline; it was Edward Cullen. When I finally saw his face, it was clear he was annoyed.

"I can't play that piano any quieter," he seethed, and Angela giggled.

"No stress. I'm not going to let them drown you out."

"Hah. I still won't be able to hear half of what's going on, and most of these drama kids can't keep in time with my playing," Edward rolled his eyes. "Can you sit in the middle of the theatre and just nod at me if they're getting ahead or behind?"

"I have to do the sound, but I'm sure Bella could do that," Angela nodded. "Right, Bella?" Both of them turned to me expectantly. Angela had a smirk on her face, and Edward looked – if anything – bored.

"Fine," I nodded. "What, one nod too fast, two too slow?"

"Nod for my playing too fast, shake for my playing too slow. Sit behind Miss Graham, about eight rows back." He turned abruptly and started to walk back down to the piano.

"Is he always that rude?" I asked Angela, irritated.

"Only when he's into a girl," she laughed, and my eyes must have widened for she laughed even harder. "I'm kidding! Well, sort of – he probably is into you, but he's just stressed and bored. He always has to play piano for the rehearsals because nobody else can be bothered, and nobody else is as good." Angela looked past me, down to the stage. "Go on, Bella, they're about to start!"

The auditions ranged from the very good to the abysmal. Some kids – mostly guys – were clearly there to fool around and mostly ended up laughing hysterically within a few notes of starting to sing. To give her credit, Miss Graham was patient enough, waving people off stage when it was clear they weren't serious. It was clear who the really good singers were – Tyler, a friend of Mike and Eric who had sat with us at lunch, auditioned for the part of Rip and the end of his piece was almost drowned out by the wolf-whistles and whooping from those who'd auditioned and were starting to fill up the first rows of the auditorium.

"Thank you, Tyler," Miss Graham called over the yells. "Next!"

Jessica was next up. She looked petrified and her face was as white as a sheet.

"I want to sing Maria's part of 'Somewhere'," Jess said, her voice trembling a little.

"OK, go ahead, Jessica," Miss Graham nodded. And with that, Edward struck up the piano and Jessica started to sing.

Her voice was quite pretty, I decided, but soft. It didn't have much power behind it and despite the mike Edward was drowning her out. Disconcerted, she fell a little behind, and I nodded at Edward, who kept glancing up at me. He slowed down a little, and Jess caught up to the end of the song.

"Thank you, Jessica." Miss Graham was scribbling something on her clipboard. "Next!"

The next girl onto the stage was tall and statuesque, with long blonde hair that fell in perfect waves down her back.

"Rosalie Hale," Miss Graham said, and though I couldn't see her face, I could detect in the teacher's voice a hint of joy. "Which part are you auditioning for?"

"Maria." Rosalie was cool as anything. "I'd like to sing a little of "I Feel Pretty".

"You are pretty, babe," someone yelled from the seats, and Rosalie blushed and giggled.

"Quiet down," Miss Graham called irritably. "In your own time, Rosalie."

As soon as she started to sing, I knew Jess didn't have a chance of being Maria. Rosalie's voice was not only confident but beautiful; she sang the song with humour and almost sparkled as she did. The applause when she finished was deafening.

"Thank you, Rosalie," Miss Graham said, "excellent as always. Who's next?"

The final few auditionees were a mixed bag, and then at last it was over and Miss Graham was announcing that the cast list would be posted before homeroom the next morning.

"Jess is going to be so miserable," Angela observed as she packed up at the lighting desk. "There's no way Graham will pick her over Rosalie for Maria."

"She'll be devastated," I agreed, but when Jessica bounced up through the auditorium towards us, she showed no sign of depression.

"C'mon, guys, who wants to go to the diner for burgers and fries?" she asked, hoisting her rucksack a little higher on her shoulder.

Angela nodded. "That sounds awesome."

"Sorry," I said, meaning it. "I've gotta get home and cook dinner for Charlie – my dad?"

"Oh, OK," Jess shrugged. "Guess we'll see you tomorrow, huh?"

"Hey, Bella?" I turned, to see Edward Cullen standing there. "Thanks for your help. You too, Angela."

"No problem," Angela smiled, but he was already gone, pushing his way out of the auditorium.

"Whoa," Jess exclaimed, looking from me to Angela. "I've never seen Edward move that fast."

"Yeah," Angela agreed, looking after him. "Something's eating him." She turned and looked at me, mock thoughtfully. "Any ideas, Bella?"

"Oh shit," I exclaimed, looking at my watch. "The Thriftway closes in fifteen minutes and I have so much stuff to get!"

"Almost as good as Cullen!" Jessica yelled after me as I made my escape.


End file.
